Rowan class spent the morning learning about how to light a mini fire safely. They used a flint and steel to make a spark, they fluffed up their cotton wool to allow the oxygen to flow through it and then tried to transfer the speak onto the cotton wool. They made sure the timing fire was contained and safe and watched it carefully until it went out.
As it was an extremely hot week, we moved from our usual Forest School site to a shady area beneath a canopy. To help keep everyone cool, most of the activities were water-based.
The children enjoyed mark-making on the ground using ice cubes and paintbrushes with water. Miss Hines kindly brought water balloons, which were a big hit. They also had lots of fun shaking a tarpaulin with water on top, creating a refreshing shower of water droplets.
The children took part in a barefoot trail, exploring different natural materials such as sand, leaves, conkers and water with their feet. They enjoyed describing the different textures and sensations.
Well done to all the children that have received certificates this week!
Mulberry
E for Excellence:Ethan
Star Writer: Devansh
Reflectiveness:Robert
Resourcefulness:Luca
Resilience: Zara
Reciprocity:Archie
Pine
E for Excellence: George
Star Writer: Tiya
Reflectiveness: Amelia
Resourcefulness: Sienna-Rae
Resilience: Kotryna
Reciprocity: Nevaeh
Rowan
E for Excellence: Isaac
Star Writer: David
Resourcefulness:Eliza
Resilience: Aadhav
Teacher Happy: Anisa
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Resilience - These children have demonstrated perseverance, managed distractions, noticed patterns and been absorbed in their tasks.
Reciprocity - These children have shown interdependence, collaborated effectively, listened to others, displayed empathy and have imitated effective ideas and methods from others.
Reflectiveness - These pupils have planned carefully, revised ideas, identified key features and can talk about their learning.
Resourcefulness - These pupils have been curious about their learning, made links between ideas, shown imagination, reasoned methodically and capitalised on resources.
This week in Literacy, our young writers plunged into the wonderful world of storytelling as we explored the rescue of the whale in the Story of The snail and the whale, focusing on sequencing events, adverbs of time, and becoming adjective detectives.
The children "uplevelled" everyday adjectives like big, small, sad, and happy into much more exciting vocabulary!
Once the children knew the sequence of the story, it was time to write sentences about it. The children did a fantastic job of orally rehearsing their sentences out loud before using their time adverbs to bring their writing to life!
This week in Maths, the children have been learning about unitising, which is an important skill for recognising the value of coins and preparing to work with money.
To support this learning, the children used pre-money counters in our class shop. They practised grouping and counting the counters to "buy" different items, helping them understand that one object can represent a value, just like a coin.
Next week, we will begin learning about money, where the children will apply their understanding of unitising to recognise coins, count amounts, and make simple purchases. You can support your child at home by looking at different coins together and talking about their values.
This week in Science, our Year 1 children explored where our food comes from and the journey it takes from farm to fork. They learned that food can come from plants or animals and discovered the different stages involved in getting food from farms to our plates.
Well done Year 1 for an amazing week - keep up all your brilliant work!
Well done to all the children that have received certificates this week!
Walnut
E for Excellence: Liza
Star Writer: Elisa
Reflectiveness: Stefania
Beech
E for Excellence: Chloe
Star Writer: Shahaan
Trackers: Chloe
Apricot
E for Excellence: Leighton
Star Writer: Rayan
Resourcefulness: Andrew
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Resilience - These children have demonstrated perseverance, managed distractions, noticed patterns and been absorbed in their tasks.
Reciprocity - These children have shown interdependence, collaborated effectively, listened to others, displayed empathy and have imitated effective ideas and methods from others.
Reflectiveness - These pupils have planned carefully, revised ideas, identified key features and can talk about their learning.
Resourcefulness - These pupils have been curious about their learning, made links between ideas, shown imagination, reasoned methodically and capitalised on resources.
We would just like to say a huge thank you to all the children for how resilient they have been during this heatwave. They have continued to work hard and have hardly complained at all (unlike us adults! 😊).
We have been doing our best to keep everyone as cool as possible by enjoying water play and spending time under our lovely big trees, where we can enjoy the shade and fresh air.
Well done, everyone – we’re so proud of you!
Dear Parent/Carers,
Due to the hot weather, we will be extending our water play activities in Year 1 and Year 2 over the next two days.
If possible, please send your child in with a named change of clothes and a pair of spare shoes for tomorrow and Friday as some children may get wet during these activities.
Many thanks for your support!
Rowan class had a good morning learning about the water cycle today. There was a breeze for most of the morning which helped keep us cooler. We had plenty of water activities including making pictures using spray bottles, making boats/rafts, drawing with ice. Then we enjoyed cooling off by shaking water on the tarp and finished off with a water challenge. The whole class worked together to transport the water along guttering into a bucket. The children leant that the guttering needed to overlap and be higher at the beginning than the end. Well done everyone.
Well done to all the children that have received certificates this week!
Walnut
E for Excellence: Daman
Star Writer:Tazkiya
Resilience: Frankie
Beech
E for Excellence: Thomas
Star Writer: Raiyan
Apricot
E for Excellence:
Star Writer:
Reciprocity:
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Resilience - These children have demonstrated perseverance, managed distractions, noticed patterns and been absorbed in their tasks.
Reciprocity - These children have shown interdependence, collaborated effectively, listened to others, displayed empathy and have imitated effective ideas and methods from others.
Reflectiveness - These pupils have planned carefully, revised ideas, identified key features and can talk about their learning.
Resourcefulness - These pupils have been curious about their learning, made links between ideas, shown imagination, reasoned methodically and capitalised on resources.
Our Year 1 athletes brought endless energy and bright smiles to this year’s Sports Day! The field was buzzing with excitement as our little superstars tackled a fantastic lineup of events. We saw incredible focus during the walking with a quoit on the head challenge, plenty of laughs and steady hands in the classic egg and spoon race, and fantastic teamwork during the fast-paced relay races. The children also loved showing off their growing coordination, clearing the hurdles with giant leaps, launching foam javelins down the field, and aiming high to throw balls right into the net. It was a wonderful afternoon filled with cheers, determination, and, above only else, a brilliant display of sportsmanship from our youngest competitors!
This week in PSHE, Year 1 have been learning about how to keep themselves healthy and why it is important to look after their bodies.
We discussed the importance of getting a good night's sleep, taking part in regular exercise, and eating a balanced diet, including 5 portions of fruit and vegetables each day. The children talked about how these healthy habits help us to grow, stay strong, and feel our best.
As part of our lesson, the children completed a sorting activity. They cut out different picture cards and sorted them into three categories: 'Things We Need to Keep Alive', 'Things We Need to Be Healthy', and 'Things We Can Have Occasionally'. This helped them to understand the difference between essential needs, healthy choices, and treats that should be enjoyed in moderation.
The children showed excellent understanding and enjoyed discussing ways they can make healthy choices every day.
This week in Geography, Year 1 explored different types of weather and discussed how weather can change from day to day. The children learned why it is important to wear suitable clothing for different weather conditions, such as coats for rainy weather, hats for sunny days, and warm clothes when it is cold. They enjoyed matching different items of clothing to various weather types and talked about how the right clothing helps us stay comfortable and safe.
Well done Year 1 for an amazing week - keep up all your brilliant work!
Well done to all the children that have received certificates this week!
Mulberry
E for Excellence:Layla
Star Writer: Alice
Reflectiveness: Ellie
Resourcefulness:Madison
Resilience: Hunter
Reciprocity: Ethan
Pine
E for Excellence:Ivy-Rose
Star Writer: Chalva
Reflectiveness: Nevaeh
Resourcefulness: Kotryna
Resilience: Sienna-Rae
Reciprocity: George
Rowan
E for Excellence: Romil
Star Writer: Abshara
Reflectiveness: Aadhvik
Resourcefulness: Zach
Reciprocity: Idris and Lama
This week’s Forest School theme was wind.
We began by discussing where wind comes from. The children shared lots of thoughtful ideas, including that it comes from the sky, the Earth moving, and the trees. We explored how movement can create wind by spinning our arms and feeling the air moving around us. We then talked about how wind is created when warm and cold air move and meet. Warm air expands while cold air contracts, and this movement of air creates wind.
We read part of the non-fiction book Gusts and Gales – A Book About Wind to learn more about wind and discover why places such as the seaside are often windier than others.
The children had the opportunity to make flags using the Japanese printmaking technique Hapa Zome. They used leaves and flower petals to create colourful patterns on fabric before attaching their creations to sticks to wave in the breeze.
They also explored sycamore seeds, often called “helicopters,” enjoying dropping them from different heights and watching them spin gracefully through the air.
To finish our very hot session, we worked together as a team to shake a tarp with water pooled on top. Everyone got a little wet, which helped cool us down, and as the sunlight caught the spray, we were even lucky enough to create a beautiful rainbow! 🌈
Year 2 - Maths
Mulberry Class
Rowan class spent their morning thinking about things we love in nature. We started with a game of ‘go find it’ and then went on a hunt with our heart finders. The children said they loved the sky, the leaves, the trees and the grass.
Year 2 - History
This week, Year 2 have been learning about significant figures in History. The children have been exploring the lives of Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr., asking thoughtful questions and showing a deep interest in why these individuals are so important to history.
The children especially enjoyed re‑creating the story of Rosa Parks. Working in role, they acted out the moment when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on the bus. They took their roles very seriously and produced some fantastic little performances.
Acting out the story helped the children understand the events more clearly and supported both their writing and their historical understanding. It was wonderful to see their confidence grow as they brought this important moment in history to life.
Rowan Class
Mulberry Class
Here is a short video for you and your child to enjoy about Rosa Parks!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MnQEfvVq-k
